LITMIR.BIZ

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gave her an odd look, then took the phone. “Hi,” he said. For a long time he listened, interjecting a ‘yes’ every now and then. And finally he gave Alison their room number, said goodbye and handed the phone back to Tess. “She’s a little scary. Does she always screen your dates?”

      “No. Only those who want to fly me out of the country on a private jet.”

      He nodded. “Good to have a friend like that. Hey, she can come with us if she wants. You can invite as many people as you like. We can make a party of it.”

      A knock sounded and Tess followed Derek into the sitting room. Alison was waiting at the door, with a handsome man standing behind her, dressed in faded jeans and a T-shirt. Derek let them both in, introducing himself.

      “This is Drew Phillips,” Alison said. “Drew, my mentally deranged best friend, Tess Robertson.”

      Drew sent Tess an apologetic smile. He was almost as handsome as Derek, Tess mused. But not quite.

      “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Drew said. He turned to Alison. “Why am I here?” he whispered. He turned back to Derek. “Sorry about this. I was just watching the hockey game and she dragged me down here.”

      “No problem. Hey, would you like to come along with us?” Derek offered. “There’s plenty of room in the plane. We’re going down to my family’s island in the Caribbean. Good food, good weather … good company?”

      Alison forced a smile, then grabbed Tess and pulled her into the privacy of the bedroom. When the door was shut behind them, she gave Tess a shrewd look. “Are you drunk? “

      “I’ve had a little scotch,” Tess said. “But I’m not drunk. Although I feel … lightheaded. What do you think? Isn’t he gorgeous?”

      “Yes, he’s gorgeous. And he seems like a really nice guy. But you can’t be serious about running off with him.”

      “Why not? He’s offering us a free trip to the Caribbean. The last vacation I had was a day at Disneyland when my dad and I were living in California. I was fourteen. If you’re worried, come along.” Tess sighed. “Haven’t you ever done something completely spontaneous?”

      “No,” Alison said. She shook her head. “All right. Yes. I slept with Drew about twelve hours after I met him. But that was different. I spent the night in his cabin up in the mountains and there was a storm and the road was washed out and … one thing led to another. You’re supposed to be getting engaged to Jeffrey.”

      “And just an hour ago, you were trying to convince me that I needed to find a man who made my heart race,” Tess said, grabbing Alison’s hand and pressing against her chest. “Feel that? It’s racing.”

      Alison glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. “If you go, then I want some assurance that he’ll bring you back in one piece.” She opened the door to the bedroom and called Derek inside.

      “Give me your wallet,” she said.

      Derek regarded her suspiciously, but then pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. They both watched as Alison rifled through the contents. “You can always see inside a man’s soul by going through his wallet.” She pulled out a photo of a girl. “Who is this? Your wife?”

      “My sister,” he said. “Chloe. That’s her on her twenty-first birthday.”

      Alison pulled out a black American Express card. “I suppose you use this to purchase the services of call girls?”

      Derek chuckled. “No. I’ve never been with a call girl. At least, not that I know of.”

      She held up a condom. “What’s this?”

      “I think you know what that is,” Derek said. “It’s always a good idea to be prepared. I’m a guy who believes in being safe.”

      “Good guy,” Drew commented from the door of the bedroom.

      Alison gave him a cool look. “All right,” she replied. “Well, I think Tess should keep the condom.” She closed the wallet and waved it under his nose. “If you do anything to hurt my friend, I will hunt you down and relieve you of the manparts that make that condom necessary. I want her back on Monday morning at the latest.”

      Tess stepped between them, grabbing Derek’s wallet and handing it back to him. “Enough.” She drew Alison toward the door. “I’ll call you when I get there, I promise. I have my cell phone.”

      “What are you going to tell Jeffrey?”

      “I’ll figure that out when he calls,” she said. Tess threw her arms around Alison’s neck and gave her a hug.

      “I still think you’re crazy,” Alison muttered.

      Tess grinned. “I know. But it feels so good.”

      DEREK GLANCED AT THE SEAT next to him and watched as Tess slept, her head resting on his shoulder. He bent close and drew a deep breath, letting the scent of her perfume tease at his nose.

      After jumping through a few hoops, he’d managed to get her on the plane and off the ground. She wasn’t keen on flying, worried about the size of the plane and only having one pilot on board. But Derek had assured her that he was a licensed pilot and could land the plane if their pilot dropped dead.

      She spent the first half hour on edge, questioning every sound and bump. Then, after a few glasses of champagne, she’d kicked off her shoes, curled up in one of the large leather seats, and dozed off. He smiled to himself, reluctant to wake her. Derek relished the chance to look at her freely.

      He hadn’t noticed before, but she had the most perfect mouth, in the shape of a Cupid’s bow. How would it feel to kiss that mouth, he wondered. Though he’d assured her he had no expectations, that didn’t stop him from thinking about seducing her. After all, he did find her incredibly attractive. And the more he got to know her, the more interested he became.

      What kind of woman would walk away from her engagement party and get on a plane with a complete stranger? Except for her habit of saying whatever popped into her mind, she didn’t seem like the impulsive sort. Yet, here she was, running away to paradise with him. She hadn’t revealed much about herself, beyond the fact that she managed a horse farm, that she’d moved around a lot as a kid and that she was about to marry the boss’s son.

      But he saw something in her eyes, in the way her brow furrowed while she was making the decision to escape. It was as if his offer had lifted the weight of the world from her shoulders. It wasn’t just a marriage proposal she was trying avoid. That could have been settled with a simple “no.” Derek suspected there was something else, something much deeper that was pulling her down.

      Everyone had at least a few secrets, he mused. His love life hadn’t been a bed of roses. Five years ago, he’d been ready to consider marriage. But after a prolonged engagement, his fiancée, an interior designer working out of their corporate offices, dumped him—for his older brother, Sam. Since then, every family gathering was an exercise in awkwardness for Derek.

      He turned to stare out the window of the Lear jet, searching for the lights of the landing strip at Angel Cay. His family had owned the island in the Caribbean since his grandfather had bought it forty years ago. At the time, his board of directors had fought the purchase. Back then, it had been little more than a small patch of sand and scrub northwest of Abaco. But over the years, the island had become a pet project of his grandfather’s and he’d turned it into a lush, tropical paradise with palm trees and gardens and white clapboard buildings.

      He’d designed a beautiful plantation house, built to weather the hurricanes. The airstrip had been lengthened to accommodate small jets ten years ago and private cottages had been added on the north end of the island, creating an exclusive resort popular with the Hollywood crowd.

      Though the cottages were probably booked, Derek knew the main house was empty. His family was spending the holidays at their newest hotel in Bermuda, Sam and Alicia

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